Protests as Israeli government passes 2025 budget just in time

The Israeli parliament on Tuesday passed the 2025 national budget, thereby securing the survival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing religious government.

The final vote was 66 in favour with 52 against in what the Jerusalem Post described as "marking a significant achievement for the coalition government."

The budget had to be passed by the end of the month, or parliament would have been dissolved automatically and elections called.

According to the Knesset, the budget totals almost 756 billion shekels ($210 billion), with defence making up around 110 billion shekels.

Speaking during the final reading, opposition leader Yair Lapid described the budget as the "greatest theft in the country's history" and said it came at the expense of the Israeli middle class.

The vote followed a 15-hour debate, which was accompanied by demonstrations by hundreds of anti-government protesters outside the parliamentary buildings in Jerusalem.

The ynet news website reported violent clashes between the protesters and the security forces, and police reported detaining six people.

According to a report in the Times of Israel, demonstrators accused police of using excessive force. Further anti-government protests were planned throughout the day.